newspost

We are thrilled to announce the release of our final project video, now live on the RI-URBANS website  and the  ACTRIS YouTube channel. This short film highlights the 16 co-designed Service Tools developed by RI-URBANS to support advanced air quality assessment in urban environments. These tools are the result of close collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders, working together to turn cutting-edge research into practical solutions for cleaner, healthier city air. Whether you're a researcher, decision-maker, or simply passionate about environmental sustainability, this video offers valuable insights into how science is shaping the future of urban air quality.

A team of researchers from Beijing Technology and Business University (BTBU) and the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), in collaboration with European partners, has unveiled LPO-XGBoost—a cutting-edge machine learning model designed to enhance the identification of PM10 pollution sources in urban environments. By integrating traditional Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) with a nonlinear XGBoost algorithm, the model offers a significant leap forward in air quality analysis. Tested across 21 European monitoring sites, LPO-XGBoost demonstrated high predictive accuracy (R² = 0.88), particularly excelling at pinpointing sources such as sea salt and biomass burning. This innovation is part of the RI-URBANS initiative, which aims to bridge the gap between scientific advances and practical air quality management across European cities. Dig more into this interesting study led by Ying Liu here.

We are pleased to announce that the FINAL RI-URBANS Science Meeting will take place in Barcelona on 8-9 September 2025 in both online and face-to-face formats, followed by an online RI-URBANS Webinar on 10 September to present the 17 Guidance documents for the implementation of measurements and modelling for novel air quality pollutants. Date: September 8-9, 2025 Time: 9h-18h (CEST) Location: Barcelona, RESIDÈNCIA D’INVESTIGADORS, C/Hospital, 64, 08001 Barcelona (Spain) You are warmly welcome to participate by filling out this registration form web-form.   Registration Deadline: Jun 30, 2025. You can find details about the scope of the meeting, along with practical information for in-person attendees — including the venue, accommodation options, and travel guidance — here. Check out the agenda —here If you have any question, please, do not hesitate to contact Nahid Atashi (nahid.atashi@helsinki.fi) or Marta Monge (marta.monge@idaea.csic.es).

We were proud to present key RI-URBANS findings at the EGU General Assembly 2025 ( Vienna, Austria; 27 April–2 May) across three scientific sessions, highlighting innovative approaches to urban air quality monitoring and assessment. Integrated Research Infrastructures Session RI-URBANS: New air quality parameters for an advanced policy assessment in urban Europe (Abstract) Presented by Xavier Querol Source Apportionment Session RI-URBANS: Source apportionment of different pollutants in urban Europe (Abstract) Presented by Xavier Querol Low-Cost Sensors Session Performance of low-cost sensors to measure PM₁₀: do they also measure coarse particles? (Abstract) Presented by Martine Van Poppel These contributions reflect "RI-URBANS' commitment to advancing science-based tools for improving air quality in different aspects.

A new RI-URBANS publication led by Karine Sartelet  quantifies intra-urban air pollution variability across five European cities (Paris, Athens, Birmingham, Rotterdam, and Bucharest) —at a resolution finer than 100 meters. Using advanced modeling techniques, the study compares both regulated (NO₂, PM₂.₅) and emerging pollutants (black carbon, ultrafine particles), quantifying their temporal and spatial variabilities. These findings highlight the importance of fine-scale mapping to better estimate population exposure and inform public health strategies. The study also offers methodological guidance to improve urban air quality models in line with upcoming EU Air Quality Directive updates. Check out the full article here:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109474

We are pleased to invite you to a special RI-URBANS webinar to present 17 published guidance documents supporting the implementation of advanced measurements and modelling techniques for novel air quality (AQ) pollutants. This event is part of the EU Horizon 2020 project RI-URBANS, in connection with the new European Air Quality Directive (EU) 2024/2881. The webinar will provide a brief introduction to RI-URBANS, the Service Tools (STs) and the “Summary and Added Value” booklet.  They provide actionable recommendations for supersites, including guidance on measurements, source apportionment, health assessment, mapping, and modelling. Date: 16 April 2025Time: 10:00 – 11:30 CEST Agenda: Check out the agenda Online link: Join the webinar Contact details: Xavier Querol (xavier.querol@idaea.csic.es) Tuukka Petäjä (tuukka.petaja@helsinki.fi)